IN THE LOOP. SOCIAL STUDIES.

Eta shapes its future

October 06, 2002|By Dan Santow.

The eta Creative Arts Foundation gala was the kind of event where 500 kindred souls--those who share a love for theater, heritage, and fostering talent--came together to raise money and revel in all their good fortune, not to mention give something back to the community. "Eta is the beacon and backbone of African-American artistic culture in Chicago," said Raullo Eanes, a vice president of National City Bank of Chicago and one of the gala's co-chairs. And, he might have added, that beacon will be brighter and that backbone stronger because eta, which highlights artistic work created by African-American artists, is on the verge of building a fab new cultural arts complex on a three-acre parcel right across the street from its current home in South Shore. No wonder the party had such a buoyant air, a sense that greater things were soon to happen.

"This is a true adventure," Abena Joan Brown, eta's president, told some of the evening's guests, "and it would not be possible without all of you."

While there was plenty of serious money being raised--an estimated $65,000 that night alone--as oxymoronic as it may sound, there was plenty of serious fun going on, too, with a DJ spinning in one area, a live band in another, a performance by costumed dancers from Muntu Dance Theater and a silent auction featuring everything from James Baldwin first editions to a new Mercedes C320. The most popular libation by far was the lime-green apple martini, dubbed the "shape shifter" by eta chairman Nancy McKeever. "This party is about shaping the future," she said, holding her drink high as if toasting the future, "so the name seemed appropriate."